The agate is a variegated chalcedonic variety of quartz, formed of successively attracted coloured layers, and is remarkable for the beauty and peculiarity of the patterns. Lines or bands run through the stone: when these are straight or ribbony the agate is called the “ribbon agate”; when they are zigzag it is known as the “fortification agate” because of its resemblance to a fortification; when the lines follow the form of an eye the term “eye agate” is often employed. In this last form it was considered an excellent instrument for the seer or prophet to hold, as it symbolized the third eye now known as the Pineal Body. Clearly the gray tint of the eye of stone approaches in colour the matter of the human eye. The importance of this peculiar organ, which lies upon the corpora quadrigemina of the brain in front of the cerebellum, was held in great respect by ancient scholars who regarded it as the organ of occult sight, of inner perception and intuition. This hidden eye is bigger in a child than in an adult, and in the woman it is bigger than in the man. There is little doubt that the ancients regarded these markings on the agate stone as symbolic of the faculties of the high spirit of man, of prosperity in peace, and protection in war. The ring of Pyrrhus is recorded by Pliny as representing in its natural colours Apollo with his lyre standing amongst the nine Muses, each with her correct attribute. The Muses and their attributes as indicated in their statues are as follows: 1. Calliope, the muse of epic poetry. A tablet and stylus, or a roll of paper. 2. Clio, the muse of history. An open scroll. 3. Euterpe, the muse of lyric poetry. A flute. 4. Melpomene, the muse of tragedy. A tragic mask, the club of Hercules or a sword. 5. Terpsichore, the muse of choral dance and song. A lyre and the plectrum. 6. Erato, the muse of erotic poetry. The lyre. 7. Polyhymnia, the muse of sublime hymn. Pensive and meditative, carries no attribute. 8. Urania, the muse of astronomy. Staff and globe. 9. Thalia, the muse of comedy or idyllic poetry. A comic mask, a shepherd’s staff or a wreath of ivy.